Who the bleep is ZYX?
by HeirOfVoid
Summary: An unknown person appears in the tower. Who is he and where did he come from?
1. In which Beast Boy sits on an intruder

**Hi, everyone! This is my first FanFic. Also, I don't own the teen Titans. I do however, own the new guy. So here goes. . .**

**(Author's note: The first chapter is not as good as the later stuff, but is important to the overall plot. If you can make it to chapter 2, I promise my writing will get much better.)**

It was a not-so-normal day in Titans tower. First off, everyone slept late. Usually, Robin would be up at dawn to watch the sunrise, Starfire would be taking Silky on a walk, and Raven would be having her morning meditation. But last night had been Raven's birthday, and what with Slade being back from the dead and the extra -late-night party they'd thrown, everyone was making Z's in their various beds. So no one was around to see the guy materialize on their couch, or see the slight distortion in the air outside, which then turned and disappeared.

So when a bleary-eyed Starfire stumbled into the kitchen, she didn't notice the intruder who was sprawled on the couch, sound asleep, but started making Zrokamas, her planets version of coffee. Neither did Robin, Raven, or Cyborg, when they wandered in looking for Coffee, Tea, and Bacon, respectively. Finally, Beast Boy noticed their unexpected squatter, but only once he accidentally sat on him after booting up the gamestation.

Beast Boy: "Dude, what the—Guys, look at this!"

The other Titans got up sluggishly, and half-walked, half-stumbled over to the couch. Once they saw their visitor, however, they instantly woke up.

Cyborg: "Yo, BB, is this some kind of joke?"

Raven: "I don't think so. Beast Boy's not bright enough to come up with something this complicated."

Beast Boy: "Hey!"

Robin: "How about we wake him up and ask him what he's doing here?"

Raven: "He's already awake."

At that point, the guy sat up. (I'm only describing him once, so pay attention!) His hair was buzz cut, and a deep bear brown. Below that was a mostly clear, pale forehead, followed by straight, thick eyebrows, a fairly large, triangle shaped nose, an under grown moustache, and a slightly pronounced chin. His eyes were the most unusual part of him. They had three rings of color. The first was wedged against the pupil, and a standard clay brown. The second was circling the first, and forest green. The third was the farthest out, and a grey-blue that darkened where it met the whites of the eyes. What the Titans noticed immediately, however, was that he was wearing only a pair of worn out gym shorts. He was super pale, of the kind that means a lot of time spent indoors. While he looked pretty dumpy at first, when he stretched, hidden muscles rippled to the surface, then sank out of sight again. Basically, he looked a little like Control Freak before he got fat.

After gaping at the Titans for what seemed like an eternity, He shook himself and said:

The Mysterious Person: "Okay, this proves it. I am completely crazy."

Whatever the Titans were expecting him to say, that wasn't it.

Robin: "Um, who are you?"

The Mysterious Person: "Ah, straight to the point, Robin. My name is ZYX." (Pronounced 'Zikes')

Robin: "That's not your real name."

ZYX: "And Robin's not yours."

Robin: "Okay. ZYX, then. _For now_. I have some questions here and the first one is—"

Beast Boy: "Dude, why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

ZYX glanced down and blushed.

ZYX: "I sleep like this. Can I borrow a shirt please? It's kind of embarrassing."

Robin: "Ooookaay, sure. I'll bring you one. Now, getting back on track, my real first question is—"

Cyborg: "How did you get past my security!"

Robin turned red for a moment before he composed himself.

Robin: "Right, Cyborg. How _did_ you get in here?"

ZYX: "I have no idea. I went to bed last night, same as always, and today I woke up in another place entirely. But if you really want to know, why don't you check the security cameras?"

He pointed at the camera fastened to the ceiling.

Robin: "Good, point. We'll go check it out. Raven you stay here and keep an eye on him."

Raven: "(sigh) All right."

Everyone expect Raven and ZYX filed out of the living room and went down to the security center. Once they had left, ZYX turned to Raven.

ZYX: "I was hoping to get to talk to you. You'll have an easier time understanding where I came from than your friends would."

Raven: "Oh? And why might that be?"

ZYX: "Because I'm from another dimension. Like you came from Azarath, I came from another earth."

Raven: "And why would I believe that?"

ZYX: "Because an inter-dimensional portal is about the only way into this place. If I had my glasses, I bet I could count at least half a dozen cameras. And I think that outline in the back wall hides an incinerator."

Raven: "Close, but it's a laser blaster. Now give me a reason to believe your story before I get you committed to a mental institution."

ZYX leaned back against the couch, and put his hands behind his head, showing off his biceps. Then he started to recite.

ZYX: "_The Gem was born of evil's fire; the Gem shall be His portal. He comes to claim, He comes to sire, the end of all things mortal."_

With each line he spoke, Raven grew paler until she was so white she looked like she had been dunked in a bucket of paint. (Think of the time Cyborg beat her at chess.)

Raven: "How do you know about that?"

ZYX: "You guys have your own TV show where I come from: _and_ comic: AND movie coming out. But because none of you actually _exists_ in my world except in the media, we don't have to worry as much about something called privacy. So I know all about your little prophecy. Anyway, I'm gonna need to stay here for a few days, at least until I can come up with a way to get home."

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the rest of the team walked in. Robin was carrying a shirt in one hand. He tossed it to ZYX, saying, "Here, put this on. You look silly without it."

ZYX: "Thanks. What did you find?"

Robin: "I'll show you."

He brought the file up.

Robin: "This is the view from the camera that controls the blaster in the back wall."

It showed an empty room silhouetted by the sunrise. Then the distortion swooped in from the skies and came to a hover right outside the window. It flexed a little, and ZYX appeared in a small shaft of blue light. Then the distortion turned around and flew away.

Robin: "Does this looking familiar to anyone?"

ZYX: "Play it again."

Robin did. At the point where ZYX teleported into the room, he said, "Freeze it." He hit the pause button. ZYX got up and studied it. As he did, a crazy smile appeared on his face, and he started laughing.

Robin: "Do you recognize it?"

ZYX: "You bet I do. That's a Protoss craft. What's more, I think I recognize this particular one. It called the Void Seeker."

Starfire: "My people have traveled all over the stars, yet we have not heard of these 'Protoss.'"

ZYX: "That's because they don't exist. Or at least they shouldn't. They were created as characters for a video game."

Raven: "Well, they obviously exist. Now what did they want with you?"

ZYX: "I don't know. As a race, Protoss are intelligent, wise, and very methodical. If they put me here, there's a very, very, _very, _good reason for it. Particularly the owner of that ship."

Robin: "And he is?"

ZYX: "Zeratul, one of their leaders. He everything I described them as, times 10, and a hero in his own right."

ZYX pondered for a moment, then turned walked back to the couch, and started shifting through the cushions.

Beast Boy: "Dude, what are you doing? I had those set up just so!"

Raven: "You arrange couch cushions?"

Beast Boy (pouting): "It's more comfy that way."

ZYX: "I'm looking for any clues our visitor may have left behind."

Cyborg: "Like what?"

He gave up on the cushions, and crouched down to peer underneath. Then he rummaged around a bit more.

He pulled out a pair of glasses.

ZYX: "Sweet, my glasses!"

He wiped the lenses on the edge of his shirt and put them on, then reached down again.

ZYX: "And to answer your question, Cyborg, like this."

He produced a strange, 3-pointed-star-shaped device. It flexed and expanded, then projected a holo-image of a roughly cut, upside down teardrop shaped gem.

ZYX: "It's an Ihan memory crystal, a form of recorded message. Zeratul left it for us to find. Now let's see, I think you push here, pull here, and-."

The holo-image surrounded itself in a glowing, green mist, and ZYX froze. Starfire walked up and waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't react. Beast Boy poked him, then made a few funny faces. He still didn't respond. Cyborg gave him a loogie. Nothing.

Beast Boy: "Dude, what's wrong with him?"

Starfire: "I believe the device has, 'paralyzed' him."

Raven: "So, now what?"

Robin: "We take him down to interrogation, and wake for him to wake up."

So Cyborg picked him up; or tried to, anyway. ZYX was totally immobile, and as such highly awkward to carry. Since slinging him over the shoulder was out, he got tucked under Cybrog's arm for the short trip. About half an hour later, ZYX snapped out of whatever trance he had been in.

ZYX: "Wow! That was vivid."

Then he noticed his surroundings.

ZYX: "Where- Oh, Interrogation. Hey, Robin, I know you're listening. Sorry about the freeze up. I should have warned you that you zone-out when viewing the contents of an Ihan crystal. Anyway, you need to see this, too."

The door opened, and Robin came in.

Robin: "Make it quick. And 'zone-out' is something of an understatement."

ZYX: "Sure. All the answers are on the crystal. Just hold it like so, then push here, and pull here to start the recall. Also, it's all true, since you can't lie when you're sharing memories."

Robin: "Good- Is this thing dangerous?"

ZYX: "Yes, if you don't know what you're doing."

Robin: "Wonderful."

He activated it, then froze, just like ZYX had a half-hour before.

Cyborg (over the intercom): "What did you DO to him?"

ZYX: "Relax, he's okay. He'll snap out of it shortly."

Raven: "He'd better. We need him."

Best Boy: "Not that much. How about we just leave him like that?"

Raven, Cyborg, and Starfire: "BEAST BOY!"

Beast Boy: "Sorry!"

Beast Boy gave them the Face to avoid a beating. A few minutes later, Robin woke up and shook himself.

Robin: "How long did it take?"

ZYX: "Only five minutes. Odd."

Robin: "So Zeratul wants us to train you to be a hero, because he had a fragment of a prophecy about the end of the world that he thinks concerns you?"

ZYX: "Pretty much. It sounds ridiculous, but it must have been pretty solid evidence to convince him to track me down across half a galaxy."

Robin: "I hope so, but is he sane? Normal people don't really do this. And is your name really-"

ZYX: "Don't say it out loud. And to answer your question, he's quite sane. His mind way be a little, well, alien, but by Protoss standards, which are stricter than ours, he's sane."

Robin: "And how do I know you're trustworthy?"

ZYX: "You don't, since you don't know me. The only real way to check is to have someone read my mind."

Robin: "Good idea. Could you come in, Raven?"

Raven: "You really want me to read his mind?

Robin: "Yes, I do."

Raven: "I can't read minds in the usual sense. At best I can sense emotions, and get a general feel for their personality."

Robin: "That'll do. I just need to know—"

Raven: "if he's trustworthy, I know.

Robin (red faced): "Stop interrupting me!"

Raven: "Fine. And ZYX, this will hurt less if you don't resist."

ZYX: "Okay."

Raven got into her lotus position. After a quick chant, her soul self lifted out of her body and phased into ZYX's. To her surprise, he didn't resist at all. After getting a good feel for him, (no lewd comments) she pulled out of his skull and returned to her own body.

Robin: "Well?"

Raven: "He's clean."

Robin: "Okay, I guess that means we can start training. But if you put one foot out of line. . ."

ZYX: "Understood, 'sir'."

Robin: "Don't call me sir."

ZYX: "All right, Robin. I'll do my best."

Robin: "For your sake, I hope you do. Raven, show him to his room. Then have him report to the gym. We start immediately. We'll see what he's made of."

Raven: "Follow me."

ZYX: "Coming. And Raven?"

Raven: "Yes?"

ZYX: "Is there something in my ear?"

Raven: "Cyborg gave a loogie."

ZYX: "Eeeewww."

**So, like it or hate it? Please review! Light flaming is welcome, but if you're going to complain about my OC, then why are you reading this? Also since this is my first FanFic, any tips on how to improve the Titans accents, phrasings, personalities, mannerisms, and any others traits I might have missed would be appreciated. And please tell me if you like the way I set up the dialogue, or if you'd rather it was in a more traditional style.**


	2. In which ZYX likes Starfire's cooking

All, right. So here's chapter 2! And I still don't own Teen Titans. But I do own ZYX.

ZYX's room was plain. Wait, that's not strong enough. It was totally, and utterly, bare. No bed, no dresser, no nothing. It didn't have even proper walls, just support frames and the backs of the whiteboard on the adjacent rooms. Also, half the floor was missing.

ZYX: "This is MY room?"

Raven: "It's part of initiation. You earn your furniture piece by piece. You get a cot and basic hygiene if you can survive the first day."

ZYX: "When exactly did you guys think this up?"

Raven: "After Cyborg came back from his undercover mission to-wait, should I be telling you this?"

ZYX: "The old H.I.V.E. Academy, I already know."

Raven: "Wow, even I find that creepy."

ZYX: "Thanks; I am crazy, after all."

They started walking to the elevator.

Raven: "What exactly do you mean,' you're crazy?'"

ZYX: "Saying it out loud defeats the purpose. Once I get adjusted to this world, I'll tell you."

Raven: "No, you're going to tell me now."

ZYX: "I'd love to tell you, but my sanity kind of depends on it at the moment."

Raven: "Fine, we're discussing this later, though."

ZYX: "Of course."

Raven: ". . . So, what is your world like?"

ZYX: "It's pretty different from here. We don't have any super villains or superheroes, as far as the general public knows. There may be some, somewhere, but if so, they do a good job of hiding."

Raven: "Wow, it must be boring."

ZYX: "We manage. I know you'd like to ask more, so how about you try to set up a way for us to spend time together, like, say, magic classes. I'm pretty sure you could sell Robin on it."

Raven: "Perhaps. Are you planning on telling them you're from another dimesion?"

ZYX: "I'm good either way. They don't particularly need to know, as it doesn't matter except that they won't find any useful information about me, no matter how hard they search. Also, they might not understand it properly if I tell them. On the other hand, they could consider me untrustworthy if I don't tell them and they find out on their own."

They stepped into the elevator and rode down to the gym in silence. Raven wanted to ask him more about his world, but decided to wait. It wasn't like he was going anywhere. When they stepped out, Robin was waiting for them, with Best Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg.

Robin: "Okay, first is a physical, then a series of placement exercises. I need to know where to start."

ZYX: "Sure."

Robin: "Follow me. Everyone else, do your regular stuff."

He led ZYX over to an adjacent door, which opened into the med room. (I won't describe it, since you've already seen it.) He walked over a terminal and brought up a medical information sheet.

Robin: "Codename?"

ZYX: "Haven't decided yet. Depends on what powers I can find. Just put ZYX for now." (You can guess what they're doing in the next part from Robin's dialogue.)

Robin: "Let's see: height, 5'9: weight, 150lbs.: age, 17: Only nearsightedness, dog allergies. Now, take your shirt off. Hmm… Now, breath in, and out, and again. Don't blink, stare at the light. Your ears are clean. Shots are up to date, and you seen healthy. You can your shirt back on now."

ZYX: "When did you become a doctor?"

Robin: "It was part of my training. Now get back out on the gym floor."

ZYX: "K."

He filed out after Robin. As they entered the gym, he saw Cyborg and Starfire lifting weights, Raven juggling a dozen gym mats, and Beast Boy, in monkey form, climbing a rope.

Robin: "Okay ZYX, first you're racing me. The distance is one lap around the quarter-mile track. On your mark, get set, go!"

They took off. The other Titans watched, hoping to see Robin leave him in the dust: To their surprise, while he wasn't as fast as Robin, ZYX didn't lag too far behind.

Robin: "Huh, you're better than I thought."

ZYX: "Running is my strong suit. I stink at everything else."

And he did stink pretty badly; his arms gave out after 10 pushups, he couldn't make it to the top of the rope even once, he barely managed 4 chin ups, he struggled to lift a 50lb. weight with both hands, and got pinned a half-dozen ways per Titan during wrestling.

Robin: "Wow. This is too pathetic for words."

ZYX: "Don't tell me you were this good on the first day. I'll get better, you'll see."

They broke for lunch. While the Titans got their usual grub, and Beast Boy and Cyborg got into another of their meat vs. tofu fights over Cyborg oversized meatball sub, ZYX got some of Stafire's cooking. It was in a pink bowl, and had the color and consistency of swamp slime.

ZYX: "What is this?"

Starfire: "It is my Zorka-berry medley. And it is your lunch."

ZYX: "Uhh, okay."

He cast a, _how bad is this?_ look at everyone else, and saw only evil grins. Great. So he chose the only option available to him. He steeled himself, and took a bite. It tasted like a PB&J+ham+roast beef+cheese+pizza sandwhich, and was, in fact, quite tasty.

ZYX: "Mmmm, this is good."

This got raised eyebrows all around.

Starfire: "You like my cooking?"

ZYX finished his bowl.

ZYX: "Yes I do. I like it a lot. More, please!"

At that, Robin's eyes bugged out, while Beast Boy's and Cyborg jaws dropped. Even Raven looked slightly surprised. Starfire, however, was delighted.

Starfire: "Most certainly!"

While she went to her room to get more, Beast Boy sidled up to him.

Beast Boy: "Dude, why do you want _more_?"

ZYX: "Because it tastes good. I thought you'd pick something fouler than that, actually."

Beast Boy: "Dude, that was the nastiest food she had. It tastes like moldy socks."

Robin: "No, it tastes like burned worms."

Cyborg: "No way, man, it tastes like dirty motor oil."

Raven: "And how would you know what that tastes like?"

Cyborg: "Tune-ups."

Raven: "Ah."

ZYX: "I'm guessing it tastes different to everyone."

Everyone shut up when Starfire floated in with another bowl of Zorka-berry medley, which ZYX quickly devoured.

ZYX: "Now what?"

Robin: "Now you do the dishes."

ZYX: "Any particular reason?"

Robin: "Initiation."

ZYX: "Oh."

So he ended up doing the dishes (surprisingly quickly, too). Then Robin took back to the gym for combat training. He pushed a button on his communicator, and one of the walls slid aside, revealing a rack of weapons of all kinds.

Robin: "Take your pick. Left handed items are on the lower right."

ZYX: "You saw I'm left handed?"

Robin: "Yes. I see everything."

ZYX wandered down the wall until he reached the sword section. After studying them for a moment, he picked one off its stand, tested its weight, then chose a classic medieval shield to match. Robin raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

ZYX: "Do you have anything I can use to blunt the edge?"

Robin: "Weapon covers are on the left."

ZYX: "Thanks."

After covering his sword, ZYX dropped into a fighter's stance, with the sword cocked over his left shoulder, and his shield brought up level with his right shoulder, and Robin realized that he had had some training. _I wonder where he learned that_, he thought as he drew his bo-staff and took a stance.

Robin: "Ready?"

ZYX nodded. They circled each other for a few seconds, then sprang. ZYX opened with a simple downward swing, which robin parried, then threw his own attack. ZYX blocked with his shield, but shied away from the blow. Robin noted this. Around this point the fight deteriorated too much to track properly. It was just act and react: block, strike, dodge, feint, shuffle left, strike, shuffle right, block, swing, duck, strike, jump. Robin threw another face blow, and ZYX flinched again. Robin took advantage of this by turning his blow into a feint, and, by swinging the other end of his staff around in a tight circle, connected with the back of ZYX's head. He went down. Hard.

Robin: "You fear pain too much. You must learn to ignore the possibility of being struck. Until you do, you will be vulnerable to the kind of trick I just pulled. Now get up, and get ready: we're going again."

ZYX struggled to his feet, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. He winced before getting back in his stance. They fought for the rest of the afternoon. Robin beat him every single time, except when Starfire accidently burned off some of her costume on the obstacle course, and he let his guard down because he was staring. ZYX got in a good blow to his side.

Robin: "Good shot. Starfire, please go change."

ZXY: "You really should ask her out."

Robin: "What are you talking about?"

ZYX: "It's _painfully_ obvious you two like each other. Please stop beating around the bush."

Robin: "I'll think about it."

ZYX: "_Right._"

Robin: "By the way, why weren't _you_ staring at her?"

ZYX: "Stare at _your_ girl? That's a good way to get my butt kicked."

Robin: "That's true."

ZYX (teasing): "Ah-ha! He admits it!"

Robin's attacks became a little more reckless after that. For dinner, they ordered pizza, and ZYX got more Zorka-berry medley (Starfire was insistent.) Then he cleaned up, while everyone else drifted off to do their own stuff.

Afterwards, with nothing better to do, and aching from his various bruises, he decided to go back to his room. He found a bed, topped with a white pillow, white sheets, and a black blanket. Sitting on the pillow was a black toothbrush, and a tube of toothpaste. _Huh_, he thought, _Looks like I'm in. Now how can I get my hands on some superpowers? The way I am now isn't gonna cut it, and no amount of training can fix that. Sigh, the only thing to is brush off some old daydreams, and swift through them for anything useful._ He collapsed on his bed, and started thinking. By the time he was drifting off, he had finished. _Perfect,_ he thought as he slipped into the whirlpool of sleep.

Back in the Ops center, the Titans were having a meeting to decide exactly how they were going to train and haze their new guest.

Robin: "So, by now you've all viewed the contents of the Crystal, and seen this 'vision,' of Zeratul's. Did your search on his name turn up anything , Cyborg?"

Cyborg: "Nothing. It's like he appeared out thin air."

Beast Boy: "Dude, that's weird. He doesn't look like much."

Raven: "He has no powers, no gadgets, and no training. Why would he be so special?"

Raven: "I sensed he has some potential for magic. Not much, though."

Beast Boy: "What about me? Do I have any, uh, potenny?"

Raven: "_Potential,_ and no, you don't."

Beast Boy: "Awww."

Robin: "I felt that he's pretty competent with a sword(rubs his bruise from ZYX's blow), but that still doesn't tell us why Zeratul would be interested in him."

Cyborg: "How about instead of standing around, making guesses, we just ask him?"

Robin: "He's asleep at the moment. We can ask him tomorrow. In the meantime, we need to decide who's going to teach him what."

Everyone groaned.

Robin: "Cyborg, you're in charge of teaching him how to use all the gadgets in the tower. Starfire, you're in charge of languages and aliens. Beast Boy, you teach him how to get around the city; when he knows every rooftop, fire escape, and back alley in the city, you're done. I'll teach him the rules and regulations for turning in criminals, and about our opponents."

Raven: "What about me?"

Robin: "You don't have to teach him if you don't want to; but since you asked, you can teach him magic."

Raven: "Fine."

With that, everyone turned in for the night, with 3 questions still running around inside their heads. Who is he? Where did he come from? And what makes him so important?

And, that's chapter 2! Remember, reviews and critiques are welcome! Say what you don't like about it, and I'll try to avoid it in the future. But don't mess with my OC's. Also, any ideas for ZYX's hazing are welcome!


	3. Run 'til you drop

Here's Chapter 3. I own Teen Titans! (one big lawsuit later) Fine, I don't own Teen Titans! Just ZYX.

The day dawned bright and early, like most days do. And, like most days, only a select few were awake to see it. Robin was one of them. As he watched the sun peep over the horizon, then lazily rise into the sky, he contemplated ZYX's progress in the week since he'd joined the team. ZYX had displayed remarkable non-challance at everything they'd thrown at him.

When presented with the classic pink miniskirt he was supposed to wear, he'd asked who was going to laugh at him, since the idea was humiliation. Then he'd pointed out that posting it on YouTube was a bad idea, since a totally new hero with unknown powers appearing out of nowhere in their next fight would be a nasty surprise for their enemies, and initiation videos would tip off everyone that they were training someone new. He still wore it, but a good portion of the hilarity was gone.

When they'd jellied and feathered him (similar to tarring and feathering), he'd laughed at himself along with everyone else. And he ate Starfire's cooking with a smile (although no one could tell if that was because he liked it.)

As for his training, he'd improved a good deal. He could now shimmy up and down the rope 3 times without stopping, hit the 30 pushup mark, and almost keep pace with Robin. In Robin's classes, he did an unusually good job of staying awake, while he understood almost everything Cyborg taught him. He made a valiant effort in Starfire's classes but was having trouble memorizing all those alien races. He made good progress in Beast Boy's mapping class, despite the fact that the two seemed to clash on everything, and spent almost as much time arguing as they did studying.

Raven's magic class was the most perplexing to Robin, though, mainly because when he'd checked in on them, ZYX seemed to be spending as much lecturing as Raven did, although on what he never found out, since they stopped whenever he got within hearing range. When questioned, Raven rolled her eyes and walked away, and ZYX just said, "I've read about a lot of different types of magic: she's just telling me which parts actually work, and which don't." Robin was pretty they were hiding something.

_Well, _Robin thought,_ the sunrise is over. It's time to go wake him up. I think a bucket of water in the face sounds good for today._

ZYX opened his eyes at exactly 6:00 A.M. He considered lying in bed for a few minutes, listening his half-remembered dreams murmur soothingly, but he heard someone walking down the hall outside his room. He could tell it was Robin by the slow, steady, light pace, and the sound of his metal soles hitting the floor. He paused in front of ZYX's room, before a faint hiss indicated he had opened the door. Deciding to surprise him ZYX pretended to be sleep. By opening his right eye the faintest sliver, he could see Robin was carefully caring a bucket as he tip-toed over to his bed. Robin reached him and prepared to dump the contents of the bucket on ZYX.

ZYX (sitting up): "Good morning, Robin. Nice try sneaking up on me."

Robin: "Your breathing pattern was off; I knew you were awake."

ZYX: "So, are you going to splash me or not?"

Robin dumped the contents of the bucket on him. ZYX sat there for a moment, then got up and started to pull the blankets off his bed.

ZYX: "I'll come up to breakfast as soon as I get changed and hang these up."

Robin: "Fine."

After he left, ZYX carried his stuff across his room and hung it up over the back of a chair. As he changed into dry clothes, he let his eyes wander. In the week since he'd arrived, his status had gone up steadily, and his room showed the change. The floor was filled in now, and he'd recently finished installing the walls. He now had a computer terminal with limited access, a dresser, the chair holding his sopping blankets, and a black couch in addition to his bed.

He'd done pretty well getting to know the team, except for Beast Boy: the two seemed to clash on _everything_, and could barely stand to talk to each other. It was like everything one of them said rubbed the other the wrong way.

On day 3, he'd tried using two swords instead of a sword and shield. Robin had beaten him up even more thoroughly than usual, but ZYX had taken a liking to style, and been using them ever since.

In his magic class, he and Raven had reached an equilibrium: he would ask a question about magic, then she'd ask a question about his dimension. She seemed to be most interested in the politics, although exactly why was a mystery to him.

Fortunately, the alarm hadn't gone off that week, allowing the titans to get fully adjusted to him without distractions. Of course, this also meant that Robin had plenty of time to analyze him. He'd never been poked with so many needles before!

So after changing into a pair of jeans and a Faces of Vader t-shirt, he headed upstairs. After the first few days, food hazing seemed to have lost its humor, so he got to have a normal breakfast with everyone else.

When he stepped into the common room, Beast Boy was passed out in front of the TV, Cyborg was shoveling mass quantities of bacon and eggs down his gullet, and Robin was sipping a cup of coffee while reading The Daily Jump (the local newspaper) on the couch. Raven and Starfire were nowhere to be seen.

ZYX: "Morning, Cyborg, how's the bacon?"

Cyborg: "Munch, munch, munch, fantastic!"

ZYX: "Great. You have any extras?"

Cyborg: "Sure, man. In the pan on the stove."

ZYX: "Thanks."

While he'd at least tried Beast Boy's tofu, he sided with Cyborg in the meat vs. tofu wars. During their first class, he and Cyborg clicked pretty naturally. ZYX thought in much the same way as him, loved meat and food almost as much, and understood a goodly portion of the technical mumbo-jumbo Cyborg spouted.

ZYX: "So, Robin, you found anything interesting in that paper of yours?"

Robin: "Just some criminal texting his victim while robbing their house. The worst part is he got clean away. Pathetic. No wonder we have so much trouble with this city."

ZYX: "You said it. At least we got a break this week."

Cyborg: "I don't know, man. I'm starting to go stir crazy."

ZYX: "We'll probably get an alert before you explode. Just hang in there."

Cyborg: 'I'll try."

ZYX: "So, where's Raven?"

Robin: "She was in here earlier, so she's probably up on the roof."

Robin leaned over and smacked Beast Boy over the head with his newspaper.

Beast Boy: " Snort, grunt. Terra. Huh,wah?"

Robin: "Hey, Beast Boy, up and at 'em."

Beast Boy mumbled something unintelligible, then shifted into a cat, stretched, shifted back and woozily wandered over to the fridge. He pulled out a case of tofu bacon before he realized exactly what Cyborg was eating.

Beast Boy: "Dude! How many pigs died to make that bacon!"

Cyborg: "I don't know, but it's delicious!"

Beast Boy: "I've been a pig, Cy! They're really smart."

Cyborg: "They also taste really good, BB so quit yapping."

Beast Boy: "Grr."

ZYX: "So, Robin, what's on training menu for today?"

Robin: "Long distance running. Basically, you run until you drop."

ZYX (drawl): "Super."

Robin: "It won't be that bad. Everyone's going to do it."

Beast Boy and Cyborg: "Do we have to?"

Robin: "Yes, you do. I'll make you run even farther if you complain."

Raven: "I'm not going."

Everyone jumped, since she'd appeared behind them.

Robin: "Everyone's going, Raven. Even you. And you know you'll do really well."

Raven: "I'm. Not. Going."

Robin: "Yes. You. Are."

Raven: "Or what?"

Robin: "Or I'll take the anti-Beast Boy security off your room."

Raven: "(sigh) Fine."

Starfire: "A most glorious morning to all my friends! We shall all have a most wonderful time on this run!"

Robin: "That's the spirit, Star. All right, everyone: when you're done eating, head down to the track."

The Titans (in unison): "Okay."

Robin left, with Starfire floating behind.

ZYX: "Is he always this full of himself?"

Raven: "No, actually. He's been extra jumpy since Slade came back."

ZYX: "Came back how?"

Raven: "Back from the dead, more or less. It's why we didn't notice you earlier when you showed up on the couch."

ZYX: "Ah, thanks."

Raven: "…"

ZYX: "Well, I'm done. See you guys down there."

The distance run was actually more complicated than you'd think. Instead of running around a course, Robin had mapped out a route around the Tower that was exactly one mile long. You had to scramble up and down rocks and duck through trees while running along the barest excuse of a path, and dodging the occasional laser blast and pop-up wall. That was all right on the obstacle course, but on a distance run? Pure torture.

Beast Boy: "C'mon Robin, can't it be easy for once?"

Robin: "Our battles are never easy. We don't train the easy way, we train the hard way. Now get going!"

Beast Boy: "Whimper."

ZYX: "We're all here Robin, are you ready?"

Robin: "On your mark, get set, GO!"

They took off, with Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire barreling down the course. Cyborg legs could keep up a steady pace that a human could never match, with Starfire using her flight just a little when she needed a break. Robin's training allowed him to keep up with them for a while, but after two laps he slowed down to a more manageable speed. Beast Boy ran at an erratic pace, rushing ahead for about a quarter mile, then almost-walking for another quarter, and flying over any obstacles (though Robin yelled at him if he got caught). Raven ran at a steady speed just below a sprint, and phased through whatever walls got in her way. ZYX plopped comfortably into a ground-eating jog, only slowing to a walk on the steep inclines.

The funny thing was he'd taken his shoes off before hand. It was something he did every time he ran, and that made no sense to the Titans. They had asked him about it, but he'd said he would have to give an entire lecture about it for it to make sense. Of course, the Titans made themselves scarce. They hadn't asked since. Raven gave him a curious look, but said nothing, quickly leaving him in the dust.

They ran like this for about half an hour, before Beast Boy tripped over his own feet, collapsed, and started snoring in the middle of the track. Robin called a 5 minute break while Cyborg carried him to bed. After another half-hour, ZYX got so tried he couldn't see straight, and ran smack into one the pop-up walls. He got sent to Medbay to recover. Another hour later, Raven and Robin dropped out more or less simultamusly. Yeah, it shocked them too.

Raven and Robin: "What do you mean, you're finished?"

After another 3 hours or so, Starfire dropped out, leaving Cyborg as the winner. Just as they got back inside, the alarm went off. From Medbay, they could hear ironic laughter and sardonic comments.

ZYX: "What perfect timing! Now that we're all exhausted, now of all times, the alarm goes off. Oh, hahahaha…"

Robin: "(pant) It's the Hive Five: Titans GO!"

Cyborg: "You stay here, Beast Boy. You haven't recovered."

Beast Boy: "Awww, man."

They rushed off to save the day, with ZYX's laughter echoing after them.

Now remember to read and review! If you don't, I can't improve.


	4. An afternoon of study and weapon testing

And here's Chapter 4. I don't own Teen Titans. 'nough said.

Many thanks to my first reviewer, Alienvspredator5 for inspiring me to continue writing! Now, on with the story!

The Titans were back from fighting the Hive Five. While they'd managed to keep anything from being stolen, the Hive students had gotten away. Robin blamed it on himself.

Robin: "I'm such an idiot! I should have known better than to make all do that run! I should have known they would strike today! I should've—"

Cyborg: "Dude, stop kicking yourself."

Beast Boy: "We all make mistakes."

Raven: "Some of us more than others."

Beast Boy: "Hey!"

Robin: "(Exhale) you're right, guys. In any case, it's time for ZYX's lessons. I'll call when I'm done with him."

Beast Boy: "Sounds good, dude. I want some tofu."

Cyborg: "I'll be down in the garage."

Raven: "I'm going to meditate."

Starfire: "(gasp) I forgot to feed silky!"

Everyone scattered to the far corners of the tower, while ZYX and Robin headed to the Investigation room.

Robin: "Today we're going to go over the procedure for turning in underage criminals."

ZYX: "(inhale) here goes…"

One boring hour later, ZYX headed for the garage.

ZYX: "Hi, Cyborg. What are we doing today?"

Cyborg: "More circuit schematics. Then maybe we'll design a laser gun."

ZYX: "Sounds cool."

Cyborg: "So, to make a speaker beep at a steady rate, you put a semiconductor here, and…"

When they were finished, Cyborg had a new laser to put in the T-car. ZYX then went to track down Starfire.

ZYX: "Hi, Star, who are we learning about today?"

Starfire: "Today I shall tell you of the Skano, a vicious people who eat the races they conquer."

ZYX: "Ugh."

Starfire: "Long, long ago, in the Feyney quadrant lived the peaceful Skano people. Until…"

After another of Starfire excellent tales, and a quick detour to the basement, ZYX headed to Raven's room. At first, he had sat outside her door and refused to come in, but after Robin almost caught them talking about 900 channels of TV actually worth watching, instead of nothing showing on half the channels, he'd agreed to come inside. He still didn't go more than 20 feet from the door, however. He also knocked.

ZYX: **bambambam** "Raven, are you in there?"

Raven: "I'm coming, I'm coming."

The door whooshed open.

Raven: "What's in the bag?"

ZYX: "Magic stuff. Were you doing anything? If so, I can wait."

Raven: "Nothing important. Now what sort of magic stuff?"

ZYX: "Things to transform."

So far, Raven initial assessment had proven correct. He could only do two spells on his own. Cathen; hide, and singcacco, reveal. But with Raven as a channeling partner, they could do some pretty cool stuff.

Raven: "So, you want to turn this hunk of graphite into a diamond?"

ZYX: "It's already made of carbon, that should make it easier, right?"

Raven: "It does help to not have to rearrange atoms."

ZYX: "So let's do it!"

Raven drew a pentagram on the floor while ZYX lit candles at the five points. Then he placed a one pound piece of graphite in the center. Raven settled into her meditating position, while ZYX sat Indian style, and they started chanting:

"Ska-par-ren-tae-ni-ta-woe,

Shey-na-po-ke-santa-ley,

Peishan-nee-ga-woo-ni-coe,

Kei-ah-conna-skorra-ney!"

The graphite, shimmered, glowed, and morphed into a diamond the size of your fist. ZYX picked it up, and after examining it, gave it to Raven.

ZYX: "Looks like it worked."

Raven: "Yes, it did."

ZYX: "That was the test run, now for the real goal."

He leaned over and whispered in Raven's ear. Her eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly hid her surprise.

ZYX: "What do you think?"

Raven: "It sounds good, but first I want you to tell me more about DC comics."

ZYX: "All right. Which part?"

Raven: "Tell me about Robin and Batman."

ZYX: "Okay. In Gotham city, 10 years ago, there was a family of acrobats on tour…"

After he'd finished recounting Robin's origin story, they started setting up for the next transformation.

Raven: "Now I know why he's so determined to stamp out crime. That's a nasty way to lose your parents."

ZYX: "You said it. Now remember, Robin will go bonkers if he finds out you know. It might drive him completely over the brink. So don't say anything about what you heard. Are we ready?"

Raven: "Just about."

The arrangement was the same as before, except now the graphite was laid in two parallel lines. They settled into position and began to chant.

"Ska-par-ren-tae-ni-ta-woe,

Shey-na-po-ke-santa-ley,

Peishan-nee-ga-woo-ni-coe,

Kei-ah-conna-skorra-ney!"

"One will be of purest hue,

And glow with inner white,

The other black as darkest caves,

To gobble up the light."

This one was a much more powerful spell. Instead of just glowing, the graphite flashed so bright it blinded them for a moment. Once the spots faded, the gazed upon the results. Surrounded by a ring of unused graphite dust were two medieval double-edged straight swords made of pure diamond, one so white it seemed to glow, the other so black it sucked in any light that touched it.

ZYX: "Wow."

He picked them up, the white one in his left hand, the black in his right. He swung them around a little.

ZYX: "They're so light. And perfectly balanced. Perfect hilt, perfect pommel, perfect cross guard, perfect height. Can I go try these out?"

Raven: "After you tell me more about Spiderman."

ZYX: "All, right. Now, one of his biggest foes was Doctor Octopus, Doc Oc, for short…"

After he finished he got up to leave.

Raven: "What do I do with this?"

She held up the first diamond they made. As ZYX walked out the door, he said, "Oh, that? That's for you. Happy Birthday."

Her mouth turned into a small O of surprise, but since he was already gone, he didn't see it. He headed to the training room to test the edges. First up was a set of wooden breaking blocks. The blades passed through without slowing down. Next up was a breaking stone. That only barely slowed them down.

ZYX: "Hmm. I need something tougher."

Robin: "What are those things?"

ZYX: "Diamond swords."

Robin: "That's sweet! I should make some! How did you get them?"

ZYX: "Raven and I used magic."

Robin: "Oh."

ZYX: "I'll make you some daggers. They don't break easily."

Robin: "Thanks."

He headed back to the Garage. Cyborg had just finished installing the laser they'd built earlier.

Cyborg: "Hey, ZYX, you want to see what my baby can do now?"

ZYX: "Maybe later, Cyborg. Do you have any armor scraps?"

Cyborg: "Sure, I got a whole pile of them over there. But what do you need them for?"

ZYX attacked the pile. Nothing, not steel, not titanium, not even a force field, slowed his new toys down for more than a second.

Cyborg: "Woah, man, what _are_ those? Where did you _get_ them?"

ZYX: "Raven and I made them. They're diamond swords with edges exactly one carbon atom wide. That's as thin an edge as you can get."

Cyborg: "Wow, that's so cool!"

ZYX: "I know."

Cyborg: "I'm gonna make one that comes out my arm. How'd you make yours?"

ZYX: "Magic."

Cyborg: "Oh."

ZYX: "Don't worry, I'll make you one too."

Cyborg: "Thanks."

ZYX went back to Raven's room.

ZYX: **bambambam** "Hey, Raven, if you're not doing anything, can you come out for a moment?"

Raven: "I'll be right there."

She opened her door just enough to show half her face.

ZYX: "I'll make this quick. Can you please make one your forces fields?"

Raven: "Umm, fine. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

She conjured an energy wall. ZYX swung his swords at it. They almost bounced off, but at the last second, pierced it.

Raven: "Impressive. Is that all?"

ZYX: "That's all."

Raven: "Good."

She shut the door. ZYX headed back to his room to practice with his new things.

ZYX: "I think I'll call you Light and Dark."

So that's chapter 4! Remember, reviews=happy writer=faster updates, and constructive criticism=better writer=better story. See you next time!


	5. An unusual side effect

**Now, Chapter 5. Okay, I've had a decent number of hits, and only 2 reviews, both from Alienvspredator5. Please review this time. If you've read this far, you already think it's worth your time to read. Why isn't it worth the 30 seconds it takes to write a review? **

**I don't own Teen Titans. I never have, and I never will (this does not include ZYX). Now, on with the story!**

Once ZYX got back to his room, he studied Light and Dark more closely. They were identical, except for the color. The cross guards were 6" wide, and the hilt+pommel were about 7". You could swing it with two hands, if you didn't care about your lower hand covering the pommel. The blade was 3" wide at the base, tapering to a point at the end of its 36"s of mono-filament edge. He could tell the balance was perfect, and clichéd as this may sound, they really did feel like extensions of his arms.

_Now,_ he thought,_ how do I make a sheath for these things? . . . I'll figure that out later. It's time for my special twist._

He started setting up a new spell ring. While Raven thought he had next too no talent for magic, that wasn't quite the case. He actually had a considerable amount of talent for the art of energy absorption and redirection. While he couldn't grab a laser out of the air and throw it back at its sender, he could turn objects into energy sponges (a wand, a walking stick, a sword. . .). That was about it for his magical talent, though.

He had a crazy idea in the works, but first it needed a test run. He placed Light in the center of the ring, and Dark off to one side.

"Pee-thah-kay-tey, No-co-lo.

High-ca-lee-tha, Si-ca-woe!"

When the dust cleared, Light was glowing faintly. _One last thing to do,_ thought ZYX.

He emerged onto the rooftop.

ZYX: "Where- ah, there it is."

He climbed on top of the stairwell and proceeded to duct-tape Light to the lightning rod.

ZYX: "You'll get plenty of sun up here."

He swung down into the stairwell, then walked to the art room. It's a 40' by 50' foot room with a normal height ceiling on the fifth floor. As you step through the door, the first thing that hits you is color. The walls are covered in a rainbow of shades, including every hue you've ever seen and about half a dozen you haven't. Turn left, and you'll see the Sculpture Corner, which has clay in every color and 2 pottery wheels, one electric, one foot-spun. A half finished vase sits on the foot-spun wheel. Straight ahead are a few easels, and a set of paints. A painting of a city skyline sits on the one to the left. It's almost done, and Robin will probably come in to finish it once he's through training. The one on the right holds an abstract made of vibrant pinks and luminescent oranges, soft greens and glowing reds. It's Starfire's, of course. The two corners opposite the door were filled with the Titans past projects, including several exquisite sculptures, a few more of Starfire's abstracts, and some darker, moody paintings by Robin. Turn right (the door is in the center of the wall), and you'll see a drawing board covered in half-finished comics, spilled ink and broken pencils: this is the result of some of Beast Boy's off hours. Behind the board is a view of the city skyline, making it the perfect place to draft new buildings. ZYX carefully cleared off Beast Boys cartoons and the skyscrapers Cyborg had designed that were buried under them, as he needed the space.

He settled on the office chair, got a fresh sheet of paper, a ruler, and a good sketching pencil, and started to draw. He knew he would be there a while, as he wasn't a very good artist. After he'd been drawing for about 20 minutes he heard the door swish open. He immediately noticed a distinct _lack_ of footsteps. After a few seconds, the pottery wheel started whirring. _Ah,_ he thought, _so that's Starfire's project._ But when he turned around, it wasn't her at all.

ZYX: "I didn't know you did pottery."

Raven: "Eep!"

She started a little, and her hair stood up in that funny way that makes it look like a bird.

ZYX: "Woah, sorry, Raven! I didn't' mean to startle you!"

Raven: "It's okay."

ZYX: "Nice vase."

Raven: "Thanks."

It was a nice vase, and certainly unique. She taken a standard design where it goes in and out, you know, the classic vase shape, and extended the mouth (the hole at the top) so much it arched down and touched the wheel. The outside looks like one of those round cakes, and if you traced a line around the rim and the base, the outline would resemble a giant donut.

Raven: "Thanks. What are you doing?"

ZYX: "Just a few sketches, nothing special."

Raven: "Okay."

ZYX: "Do you think we could make a few more diamond blades? Robin and Cyborg want some."

Raven: "Another time. I want to finish this."

ZYX: "All right."

He went back to his drawings.

After another 40 minutes he finished up and rode the elevator up to the common room for dinner. One of the few things Robin insisted everyone did was sit down and have dinner together. He'd said something about "keeping the team together," when he'd first explained it. ZYX thought it was a result of Starfire's little time travel incident.

Due to a general oversight, lunch had been skipped, and everyone was feeling the results. Starfire's nine stomachs were all growling in a continuous loop, and the vibration was shaking the table. Raven was in active meditation, something she didn't usually do in public. Beast Boy was bent double, moaning about his "tummy cramps."And Robin? While he was trying to remain civil, you could tell it was a struggle. The only person who didn't seem troubled was Cyborg, since he was busy preparing dinner. ZYX heard a rumble that sounded suspiciously like "kerflush" coming from his midsection, and felt his hunger pangs subside. He knew they'd be back shortly, and with them a short(er) temper. He joined the group circling the kitchen counter.

Robin: "So, what did you make, Cyborg?"

Cyborg: "My original recipe for Cy-b-que ribs, both beef and pork, with mashed potatoes, hush puppies, French fries, and tater tots."

Raven: "Where's the vegetable?"

Beast Boy (with eyebrow waggle): "My specialty (ugh) tofu salad, of course!"

Raven: "Of course."

Cyborg: "Come on, man, why'd you have to ruin a perfectly good salad?"

Beast Boy: "Dude, it's (ooh!) not like you'll be eating it, (agh!) and what did those poor pigs and cows do to (ee!) _you_?"

Cyborg: "Nothing, they're just tasty."

Beast Boy: "Dude, you—"

Robin: "Quiet, both of you! (exhale) look, I know we're all on edge right now, so let's just eat."

Since they didn't have a traditional dining table, everyone sat at the little booths opposite the kitchen. The seating, looking from the kitchen, from left to right, was: Robin (on the bottom of the "L" of the first table, at the "head" of the booth), Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy at the first table, and Cyborg and ZYX at the second table. (This is based on the overhead view of the common room as shown in Season 1, episode 7, "Switched," at the 4min., 20 sec. mark.)

After everyone satiated their appetites by gobbling up a first plate, the Titans settled into more regular conversation. Robin and Starfire were talking and laughing, and would have been swapping bites if Starfire hadn't covered her food in mustard. Cyborg and Beast Boy were exchanging jokes and barbs about the food. Raven ate in small bites, didn't say a word, and left as soon as she was finished. ZYX focused on his food, going through 3 platefuls, then sat back and listened to everyone else, occasionally putting in a comment.

When everyone had finished, Beast Boy challenged Cyborg to a Racing2000 showdown, Robin went to file some arrest warrants, Starfire went to play with Silkie, and ZYX cleaned up. He did this every night, not because of hazing, but because he was faster than Beast Boy, Raven always disappeared, Robin was too busy, Cyborg cooked, and Starfire didn't understand the concept of washing dishes.

Cyborg dealt Beast Boy a crushing defeat just as ZYX finished washing.

Beast Boy: "Come on, Cy, best four out of seven?"

Cyborg: "No can do, BB, I have to go shopping. Anyone want to come with me?"

ZYX (shrug): "I'll come."

They went down to the garage, where Cyborg slipped a holo-ring on his finger, transforming into a normal looking guy.

ZYX (while cleaning his glasses): "Uh, Cyborg? Your ring isn't working."

Cyborg: "What are you talking about? These things never break."

ZYX put his glasses back on.

ZYX: "Well, I can sorta see the image, but I can see you as well. It like you're standing in front of a movie projector."

Cyborg: "Hmm."

He went into the corner of the garage where he kept his junk pile. After picking out a random piece of pipe, he slipped the holo-ring onto it. The pipe immediately took on the appearance of a severed human arm, which he showed to ZYX.

ZYX: "why does your ring have a setting for _that?_"

Cyborg: "That proves it. You can see through my holographs."

ZYX: "Really? (Thinks for a moment) Sweet!"

Cyborg: "Come on. Let's get going."

They got in the T-car and drove through the tunnel to the mainland.

ZYX: "So, Cyborg, if you're shopping in disguise, why are we in the T-car? It's kind of obvious."

Cyborg: "Actually, I've got copycats all over the city. My baby here is just the best."

It was true. As they drove into the (name your supermarket here) parking lot, ZYX counted at least three cars that looked just like the T-car, and a bus with the same paint job. They grabbed a cart and went into (name your supermarket here). Immediately ZYX spotted Jinx picking out apples in the produce area. She was wearing a holo-ring that projected an image of a cute Asian girl with short, straight black hair and bangs.

ZYX: "Uh, Cyborg? Has this store ever been attacked?"

Cyborg: "No, it's never gotten a scratch. Why?"

ZYX: "Because I think the villains shop here too."

Cyborg: "What makes you say that?"

ZYX: "Jinx is in the fruit section. Don't bother looking for her; she's got one of your rings."

Cyborg: "The rings that you can see through."

ZYX: "Exactly."

Cyborg: "Is she stealing anything?"

ZYX: "I don't think so. Still, I'll keep an eye out. There might be more of them."

A _lot_ more, as it turned out. As they made their way around the store, arguing over whether to get veggies in addition to all the meat ("Broccoli is not that bad, Cyborg."), ZYX pointed out Private Hive, See-More, Control Freak, Dr. Light, Mammoth (he just barely fit into his disguise), Red X, Adonis, and Mumbo, all just shopping. No stealing, no tricks, nothing. They even went through the checkout!

ZYX: "Okay, this is getting weird. What do you think?"

Cyborg: "Villains have to eat too, I guess. But man, it's disconcerting to stand in line behind your worst enemy." He glared at Gizmo, who was fishing a credit card out of his suit. "How did he even get one of those?"

ZYX: "Who knows? At least this explains why no one's ever trashed the place." They paid for the groceries. "That everything?"

Cyborg: "Yep." He glanced around nervously. "Let's go, man, this is getting creepy."

They left with two shopping carts full of food. As they were loading them into the car, a storm appeared on the horizon, moving towards the city. By the time they got back to the tower, rain was coming down in droves, with a spattering of pebble-sized hailstones. Halfway through carrying the food upstairs, an enormous bolt of lightning struck the tower, followed closely by an earsplitting crack of thunder. ZYX, turned white, remembering that he'd attached light to the lightning rod a few hours before. And it was raining so hard he couldn't go outside and take it down! As he could do was wait, wincing every time he heard a rumble of thunder.

When the storm _finally_ let up, he rushed to the roof to survey the damage. As he stepped out of the stairwell, he was already figuring out what to say to Raven to explain how he broke their creation. But when he climbed onto the lightning rod, he found Light was completely unharmed, and crackling with electricity. After checking to see if it would zap him if he touched it, he carefully took it down. Since the spell he'd used allowed him to read the energy contained within, he saw it had been struck nine separate times, and absorbed them all. He could now fire several bolts of lightning without a recharge, in addition to the sunlight it had eaten.

ZYX: "Sweet."

He stayed to watch the sunset, since those in jump city were extra beautiful, and the view from the top of the tower was spectacular. After the sun sank out of sight, and dusk started to turn to night, he wandered down to the shooting range. Robin was practicing with his bird-a-rangs, so he waited an hour until Robin got went upstairs. ZYX didn't want anyone else in the room when he shot lightning for the first time. He queued a circle target taped to a large mound of dirt, straightened his arm, pointed Light downrange, sighted between the knuckles of his thumb and index finger, then released a single bolts' worth of energy at the target.

CRAKA-KABOOM!

The explosion generated a small cloud of smoke. When it cleared, he saw the piece of paper the target was painted on had been vaporized, along with about a third of the dirt pile. He followed it up with a few blasts of sunlight and a wave of light arrows, which reduced the pile to a charred spot on the floor.

ZYX: "This is awesome! It's too bad I have to recharge it."

Of course, he couldn't hear himself say that due to the dead feeling in his ears. Once it had cleared, he hid Light energy aura so it looked "normal," (more or less) and went back to his room. He then considered doing the other thing he was working on.

ZYX: "Nah, it's late, I'll do it tomorrow."

He stuck Light in a wall socket to charge, did his stuff and went to bed, noting the floor mounted lamp that had appeared by his couch.

In the security room, the Titans were having another meeting.

Robin: "You got the recording, Cyborg?"

Cyborg: "Right here."

He popped it into the player, and everyone settled back to watch ZYX fire a lightning bolt at the dirt pile. When it had finished, they sat in stunned silence for a moment.

Raven: "That was unexpected."

Robin: "I think this is part of the reason he got dumped here. If he could do _this_" he tapped the screen, "in a week, who knows what he can after a month, much less a year."

Cyborg: "I wonder what he's going to put in the other one."

Beast Boy: "I dunno, dude."

Raven: "You never know."

Beast Boy: "Hey!"

Starfire: "Please friends, let us not fight. It is late, and—" she yawned, "I am ready for sleep."

Robin: "You're right, Starfire, meeting adjourned. Now remember, everyone: keep an eye on him, he's more dangerous than he looks." He tapped again, for emphasis.

The group split up. Everyone went to bed except Robin, who stayed behind to watch to video of ZYX's appearance again. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't turn up anything on the Protoss. The only evidence that the ship was Protoss in the first place was the memory crystal and ZYX's word. After three hours of fruitless viewing, he finally gave up and sat there, rubbing his knuckles into his face.

Robin: "Who are you, ZYX? Who are you really?"

**Aannnddd that's chapter five! A note of caution to those of you who read my story: I make no promises about updating ASAP. I'll post the next chapter when it's ready, not before. I'm warning you now so I won't have to apologize for the next chapter taking so long. Now remember, R&R!**


	6. Plot Twisted in a Knot

**So, chapter six. I'm amazed I actually wrote this far. It's certainly my largest work ever. Thanks to **Glacier **for your excellent review, even if I can't reply.**

Normal text is narrator.

"This is speech."

_This is thought._

_**This is written words.**_

This is a transition.

**This is author's notes.**

**Disclaimer; If I owned Teen Titans, it would have its own time slot instead of 1 minute shorts between Young Justice and the like. Now, on with the story!**

ZYX woke up bright and early the morning of his eighth day so he could beat everyone in the race to the shower. Raven had gotten there first, of course, but he managed to slip in right in front of Beast Boy, who let out an indignant, "Hey!" As he showered, he went over the day's schedule.

_Let's see, _he thought, _Robin will keep me training all morning, then there's lunch, then about 5 hours of classes. Hmmph. I won't be able to do the spell until just before dinner, at the earliest. That's annoying._

He toweled off and stepped out of the bathroom, then dodged around the booby trap Beast Boy had set up outside (It involved him slipping on some oil and falling face first into a tub of Pudding of Sadness). Before he went to breakfast, he carefully disabled it, since he didn't want it to catch anyone else.

When he walked into the common room, he remembered it was Wednesday, and Wednesday was Waffle Day. Raven was sitting at her usual spot with a tower of waffles, and was devouring them with a level of enthusiasm that was nothing like her usual, stone-faced self.

ZYX: "Hi Raven, how's it going?"

She shot him a glare that said, _Don't interrupt me._

ZYX: "Right, sorry."

She shot him another glare for good measure and turned back to her waffles. He moseyed into the kitchen and poured some batter into the waffle iron. Cyborg's new instant waffle maker would be finished in few days, along with a bunch of other upgrades. But for now, he had to do it the normal, low-tech way. Once he was done making his waffles he went over to his usual spot and started eating. He had to admit, Cyborg made the best waffles he'd ever eaten. If Cyborg ever got tired of beating up bad guys (which was unlikely) he could set up his own restaurant.

Just before he finished, Robin marched in, grabbed the paper, a cup of coffee, and a waffle, then proceeded to drag ZYX to the training room just as he finished the last bite. After a short detour to ZYX's room to pick up Light and Dark (a quick scan with singcacco showed he had picked up enough charge for 200 lightning bolts), he ran ZYX through his exercises (pushups, sit-ups, etc.). When that was finished, they stepped onto the mat.

While ZYX had been improving, he still didn't have anywhere near Robin's skill, so they went through the usual routine of Robin beating him up for most of the morning. About an hour before lunch, Robin led ZYX out to the obstacle course.

Robin: "So, ZYX, I saw the little test you did last night. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about?"

ZYX: "Yes, actually. I can see through Cyborg holo-rings."

He thought, _I'm also from another universe, _but he didn't say it out loud.

Robin: "And you didn't tell me this _why?_"

ZYX: "I dunno. I guess I forgot to. Sorry."

Robin: "While, next time something like this happens, I want you to tell me immediately. Got it?"

ZYX: "Got it."

Robin: "And so it will stick, I want you to clean up Starfire next cooking mess, when it happens."

ZYX: "Yes, sir."

Robin: "Don't call me sir!"

ZYX: "Okay, Robin."

Robin: "That's better. Now, let's see how well your new toys work."

ZYX: "Sounds fun."

Despite appearances, Robin did not run him through the course (he was too much of a safety freak for that). Instead he put ZYX in the middle of the gun section and told him to shoot the turrets as they popped up, kind of like whack-a-mole, then, after checking that Light wouldn't backfire, he hid behind the control consol. ZYX did pretty well at first, but holding up Light parallel to the ground took some effort, and it was awkward to swing around. As time went by and the turrets started appearing faster and faster, ZYX went from hitting 9/10 to 3/10. Robin let him take a break when ran out of bolts.

After lunch, which consisted of bacon or tofu bacon sandwiches and an another argument (these guys fight all the time, even they're NOT fighting), Robin told Beast Boy to teach ZYX a double length class to make up for missing it yesterday. They went over the depth charts of the bay and butted heads over the fastest way to navigate it in the T-ship.

ZYX: "If you take this route, you can shave 5 minutes off the travel time."

Beast Boy: "Dude, you can't go through there! That water is acid and will eat at the ship."

ZYX: "Why would it be acid? There's nothing different over there."

Beast Boy: "I don't know. All I know is I burned my fins when I went over there."

ZYX: "Why-"

Beast Boy: "Don't ask."

ZYX: "Okay. Which way, then?"

Beat Boy: "This way."

ZYX: "But what about this way..."

2 hours later, ZYX stormed out of the common room. _That idiot!_ he thought, _there's absolutely no reason why you can't take that route. All he said was, "You have to go _this_ way!" Moron._

He fumed the entire way to Robin's class. He composed himself before he went in, thinking, _I don't want to make Robin mad. He's crazy enough as it is, what with Slade being back._ When he stepped into the crime room, Robin was waiting for him.

Robin: "Today we're going to have a quiz."

ZYX: "(sigh) All right."

An hour later he'd gotten a 38/40 and Robin let him go so he could pan over the Slade footage again. ZYX made a beeline for the garage. When he walked in, Cyborg was buffing the T-car.

ZYX: "Hey, Cyborg, I've got a problem."

Cyborg: "What's that?"

ZYX held Light and Dark out. "I need sheaths for these that they can't cut through. Any suggestions?"

Cyborg: "Maybe a few..."

An hour later they had thrown together a solution: a pair of sheaths that went over his back from his right shoulder to the left of his midsection lined with Kevlar scavenged from a couple of discarded bulletproof vests (Robin's suit wasn't just for show). Light went in the one on top, which was painted white, and Dark went in the one on the bottom, which was painted black (of course). The belt was black on the lower side, white on the upper, and was adjusted by a similarly painted bulletproof buckle over his heart.

Cyborg: "Here, your swords can't cut this."

ZYX: "Thanks, man."

Cyborg: "Anytime. By the way, have you talked to Raven about getting me some diamond blades?"

ZYX: "Not yet, I'll bring it up in class.

ZYX knocked quietly on Starfire's door.

ZYX: "Starfire? Are you in there? It's time for class."

He heard an eep! from inside the room. Starfire opened the door a crack and stuck her head out.

Starfire: "Um, class is canceled for today. I am sorry, but my bumgorf has 'thrown out.'

ZYX: "You mean thrown up?"

Starfire: "Yes, I am, um, the 'busy.' Tomorrow, perhaps."

ZYX: "All right."

He took off down the corridor. If this was anything like the last time Silkie had thrown up, he wanted to get as far away as possible.

He knocked tentatively on Raven's door. It slid open after the first touch and he found himself tapping his knuckles on her forehead. She glared up at him, not amused.

ZYX: "Gah! Sorry Raven."

Raven: "(sigh) It's all right, ZYX, just come in."

As he stepped through door he saw Raven had already drawn a magic circle on the floor.

Raven: "Today we're going to do binding spells, since it's one of the few areas left that you haven't tried. Let's see." She floated over to one of her shelves and started panning through the books. "It should be right around- ah, here." She pulled it out, and the hole behind it blew up in her face, covering her in soot.

ZYX: "Raven! Are you all right?"

Raven turned to him, eyes glowing red.

Raven (barely contained rage): "DID YOU DO THAT?"

ZYX:"No way! If I set that I would be laughing so hard I wouldn't be able to answer you, instead of almost wetting my pants."

Raven: "Well, who did, then?"

ZYX: "Beast Boy or Cyborg, most likely."

Raven dropped the book on her dresser and flew to the door. "I'm going to go find out, and make him pay. Don't get in any trouble."

ZYX: "Yes, ma'am." She shut the door.

ZYX went over the book and leafed through it.

ZYX: "Hmm. . . Soul to object, Soul to other person, soul to dead body, (ugh) ah, here we go, object to person." he glanced at page, and immediately got lost in the countless arcane symbols and complex instructions. "Good God, I'm nowhere near good enough for this! My natural talent was enough to get me through Light's spell, but this one will take lots of practice. I'll have to put it on hold for now. Or ask Raven. Hmph."

When Raven got back 5 minutes later, she had cleaned herself up and was smirking ever so slightly.

ZYX: "How'd it go?"

Raven: "Found Beast Boy and Cyborg, got a confession out of both, then threw the little snot bag out the window and popped all the tires on Cyborg's car."

ZYX: "Both of them?"

Raven: "Both of them. Now, before I start the class, I want you to tell me about Batman."

ZYX: "Just tell me you're not going to torment Robin with this."

Raven: "I'm not."

ZYX: "Good. Now, let's see. About 25 years ago, in Gotham city. . . "

It was a normal day in the Hive Five Headquarters, or as normal as it can get for 5 delinquents. Private Hive was getting his butt kicked by Gizmo in Mega Monkeys 3, Mammoth was lifting weights, and See-more was on the couch ogling Jinx when she came in for a soda. Gizmo elbowed him.

Gizmo: "Quit lookin' at her, scuzbrain, or she'll think you're a snotspitting moron."

See-More: "I can't help it, she's so. . ." He trailed off, unable to describe his feelings.

Gizmo: "Just ask her out! It's not that hard."

See-More: "You're just a kid, Gizmo, why are you giving me dating advice?"

Gizmo: "'Cause you're a scuzpicking idiot."

See-More: "Fine. Wish me luck."

Gizmo: "Sure, snothead, you're gonna need it."

See-More got up and started toward Jinx, but just as he was about to speak, the underground bases' newly installed alarm system went off. Everyone ran to the command ops.

Jinx: "Where's the intruder, Gizmo?"

Gizmo: "I'm workin' on it, snotbrain, don't rush me!"

A screen popped up, showing a couple of pressure sensors that had gone off in hall 7, sublevel 10.

Gizmo: "What the hairball? How'd he get so far down without setting anything off?"

Jinx: "Let's go find out. Hive Five, pattern Epsilon!"

Private Hive: "Yes, Ma'am!"

They split into two groups and surrounded the hall, with Mammoth and Gizmo on the left, and Jinx, See-More, and Private Hive on the right. At a hand signal sent through their communicators, they charged into the hall simultaneously, surrounding the intruder.

Jinx: "Freeze!"

Intruder: "Aahhh!"

With one look at See-More's enormous eyeball, the trespassers' eyes rolled back into her head, and she slumped to the ground in a dead faint. The Hive Five approached cautiously. When it became apparent she wasn't faking, they relaxed a little. Up close, they could see the intruder was female, about 5'7", with shoulder length brown hair and cute features. Her age couldn't be determined because she had hit the "timeless beauty" stage of her life, and could be anywhere from 12 to 25.

Private Hive: "Should I take her to interrogation, Ma'am?"

Jinx opened her mouth and started to say, "Go ahead," but something made her pause. Her brain buzzed a little.

Jinx: "I don't know. She acted like she'd never seen a superperson before. Take her to the living room couch, she might tell us more if we don't treat her badly. See-More, it might be better if you watch from the command center. She seemed to be especially terrified of you.

See-More and Private Hive: "Yes, Ma'am."

Private Hive grumbled as he slung her over his shoulder. They didn't get many visitors, and he was always looking for a chance to improve his technique. After Private Hive unceremoniously dumped the girl on the couch and earned a glare from Jinx for it, everyone filed out of the room except for her. She drew up a chair next to the couch, made herself comfortable, and practiced looking as concerned and friendly as possible.

Meanwhile, See-More stomped into the command center and powered up the lie detectors and scanners. He was just about to ask out Jinx, and then this girl interfered. It was so frustrating! After letting out a minor curse, he checked the girls' readings. She didn't have any injuries (good), superpowers, or technology apart from a watch and cell phone. Those last two together were extra weird, since she didn't have any way of getting past Gizmo's security. _Why,_ he thought, _could she possibly have wanted to get all the way into our base, then trip the alarm and let herself get captured? And what was up with her fainting when she looked at me? Does she have a phobia for giant eyeballs? Well, I'm going to find out soon enough; she's starting to come 'round._

ZYX: "And that's why Bruce Wayne became the Batman."

Raven: "Wow."

ZYX: "Yeah. Is that enough for a lesson?"

Raven: "Yes, it's plenty. We'll be doing a binding spell on your swords, so they'll return to their sheaths when you drop one."

ZYX: "I left them in my room. Be right back!"

Outside Raven's room, Robin dashed around the corner and out of sight, heading for the crime room. He'd finally managed to get close enough to them to listen in, and what he'd heard was shocking and terrifying, to say the least. This total stranger knew everything about Batman's secret identity, and had traded it to Raven for a magic lesson!

_Okay, _Thought Robin, _don't panic. How do I deal with this? _If he tried to confront them about it, Raven would stonewall him like she had before. He could probably get ZYX to talk, but he didn't any guarantee that the new story ZYX told him was any truer than the last. No, he had to get his information elsewhere. _Those files I asked for from the Chief of Police should be here by now; I'll go pick them up._

He was so busy thinking that he almost ran into Starfire coming out of the common room.

Starfire: "Friend Robin, was it the matter?"

Robin: "I can't talk now, Starfire, I have business to do!"

He was gone before she could reply.

Starfire: "Uhh, okay?"

Robin made his way to the base of the tower, where a package was waiting for him, with a note.

Note: _**Here are the papers you requested. Don't forget, the combat lessons you promised to teach start tomorrow tonight at seven.**_

Robin groaned. He'd almost forgotten what he'd promised to do in exchange. He picked the box up with a grunt, and carried it back inside, idly wondering how in the world the mailman could get to an island in the middle of the bay. After a long trek up the stairs (he thought he needed the endurance training), he deposited the box on the desk in his office, which was tucked away in a corner of the evidence room, slit the top open, and began to sort through the contents. After two hours of careful searching he had finished all the birth certificates in the box and still hadn't any trace of ZYX. With a roar of frustration he threw the box into the wall, where it crumpled to the ground with a soft sigh. He sat back in swivel-chair, groaning.

Robin: _Come on, Dick, think! There has to be something on him. People don't just appear out of thin air, do they? Wait-_ he remembered ZYX jokingly refer to one of his little sisters as freezo hands after Cyborg left one of his hands in the freezer overnight and dropped it down the back of ZYX's shirt. For some reason, the nickname sounded familiar. _It's a slim chance, but I'm out of options._

He entered the term into his custom made search engine, and stretched, waiting. After about 10 seconds, it came back with a hit. In the super-villain database. He clicked on it.

A file came up with a picture of a young teenage girl with short spiky white hair wearing a pair of yellow ski glasses, a dark blue shirt with a snowflake on the front, baggy snow pants, and black fingerless gloves and boots blasting Mas y Menos with freeze rays.

_**Code Name: Freezo hands.**_

_**Real Name: protected under the secret identity clause in the 28**__**th**__** amendment.**_

_**Powers: Super cold hands, freeze and cold rays, hypothermic shock on contact with skin. icy wit. Martial arts training.**_

_**Weaknesses: Heat.**_

_**Threat Level: medium-low.**_

_**Known Accomplices: The Wisp, Ground Pounder.**_

_**Known Relations: The Wisp, Ground Pounder.**_

_**Current Whereabouts: Steel City Penitentiary, arrested by Titans East on 9/1/2012.**_

Now Robin where he'd heard that before: it was on the biannual report the Titans East had sent him. It said something about the Wisp as well, so he clicked on the link to that page.

_**Code Name: The Wisp.**_

_**Real name: protected under the secret identity clause in the 28**__**th**__** amendment.**_

_**Powers: phasing, invisibility, flight**_

_**Weaknesses: Pacifist.**_

_**Threat Level: low.**_

_**Known Accomplices: Freezo Hands, Ground Pounder.**_

_**Known Relations: Freezo Hands, Ground Pounder.**_

_**Current Whereabouts: Steel City Penitentiary, arrested by Titans East on 9/1/2012**_

At the bottom of the page was a picture of a short curvy girl with long, wispy light blond hair in a ponytail wearing a long-sleeved jinni outfit and a butterfly mask stepping out of a wall. Feeling a growing sense of dread, Robin clicked on Ground Pounders file.

_**Code Name: Grounder Pounder**_

_**Real name: protected under the secret identity clause in the 28**__**th**__** amendment.**_

_**Powers: advanced military and martial arts training. Has stolen armor that converts matter to energy and absorbs electromagnetic waves to charge large energy blaster and grenades. Immune to blunt and energy attacks.**_

_**Weaknesses: unknown.**_

_**Threat Level: low**_

_**Known Accomplices: Freezo Hands, The Wisp.**_

_**Known Relations: Freezo Hands, The Wisp.**_

_**Current Whereabouts: unknown. Escaped capture by Titans East on 9/1/2012.**_

Robin stared in utter shock at the picture of Ground Pounders suit. Or, to be more precise, who was wearing the suit. It. Was. **ZYX! ! ! ! **_I think it's time he and I had a little chat._

**So that's chapter 6. The plot's heating up now, and I'm hitting my stride. Remember, R&R!**

**One last thing: I'm not going to have a cliffhanger unless I plan on updating more quickly than usual.**


	7. Em Onymous

**Hello, my loyal readers! It is time for another update, and more plot twists are on the way. But why am I blabbing? On with the story! **

Normal text is narrator.

"This is speech."

_This is thought._

_**This is written words.**_

This is a transition.

**This is author's notes.**

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans)**

ZYX scurried back into Raven's room with Light and Dark: "I'm back, Raven."

Raven: "It took you long enough. Now place them in the circle on the left, then stand in the one on the right."

He did as instructed.

Raven: "Now repeat after me. Callas-sen-ten, moke-co-let."

ZYX: "Callas-sen-ten, moke-co-let."

Raven: "Pose-saa-maa-kay-coe-low-pet."

ZYX: "Pose-saa-maa-kay-coe-low-pet."

Raven: "Narket, ha-ken,makka-set."

ZYX: "Narket, ha-ken,makka-set."

Raven: "Mos-soak, kellon-mow-la-home-met."

ZYX: "Mos-soak, kellon-mow-la-home-met."

With each line of the spell, the circles glowed brighter, until they exploded into a radiant emerald shade. When their vision cleared, they saw Light and Dark were now slung across his back.

Raven: "Now, whenever you say, colant (coal-aunt), your swords will return to their sheaths, or the sheaths will appear on your back."

ZYX: "Great. So, Raven?"

Raven: "Yes?"

ZYX: "You know how your powers act up whenever you feel too much emotion?"

Raven(After long pause): "What about it?"

ZYX: "Have you tried making a power sink that will suck up all the energy you release accidentally?"

Raven opened her mouth to respond, but started considering what he had said. The more she thought about it, the better it sounded.

Raven: "No, I haven't, but it sounds like a good idea." She flew to one of her shelves and started grabbing books. "Why didn't I think of that?" ZYX wisely stayed silent.

After finding the right tome, Raven walked over to her vanity, where she opened one of the drawers and took out the gem ZYX had given her the day before.

Raven: "This should do nicely."

She wiped away most of the two circles that were already on the floor, then drew a new one between them.

Raven: "Stand back."

ZYX retreated to the corner of the room closest the door.

Raven: "cool-sennack-contolpum,

Nicka-lumpa-te,

Nick-clone-nos-nocka-kum,

Passa-nappa-whey!"

The circle started to glow purple, but the remains of the two circles on it's left and right started shimmering black and tainted the middle. Neither ZYX nor Raven noticed, though, because they were both screaming from the mind numbing pain surging through their bodies. The last thing ZYX heard as he slipped into unconsciousness was the rest of the team surging through the door.

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(This document editor won't let me use the usual transitions)

Inside the HIVE FIVE's base, the girl groaned and slowly opened her eyes. As her blurry vision came into focus, she saw a pretty Asian girl perched on a chair next to the couch she was lying on, looking at her with a slightly worried expression (Jinx had decided on a holo-ring at the last second).

Jinx: "Are you feeling better?"

Girl: "Yeah, I think so. Who are you?"

Jinx: "I'm Jinx."

Girl: "Jinx? What kind of a name is that?"

Jinx: "It's a code name."

Girl: "Code name? Why would you need a code name?"

Jinx: "I'm a meta-human. You know, like the Flash and Black Canary?"

Girl: "meta-hu-? No way, there's no such thing."

Jinx(confused): "What?"

Girl: "Meta-humans aren't real, they're in comic books, like the ones my best reads all, the, time."

Jinx(shock/rage): "Comic books?"

Girl: "Yeah, comic books. The kind where you save the world ever day and blow stuff up with your mind?"

Jinx fired one her hex bolts at a can sitting on the counter, causing it to explode and spill soda all over.

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See-More: "Hey, that was mine!"

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Jinx: "Like that?"

The girl stared at the brown stain on the counter for what felt like infinity. When she turned back to look at Jinx, all the color had vanished from her face, and she was trembling slightly. She looked like she was about to faint again.

Jinx: "Okay, let's try this again. I'm Jinx, and you are-?"

Girl: "I'm Em onymous."

Jinx: "Anonymous?"

Em: "EM onymous. EM."

Jinx: "That's an unusual name."

Em: "So is Jinx."

Jinx: "Touché."

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

Jinx: "How did you get here?"

Em: "I don't know. I was coming home from my dancing class like I do every day, and I-stepped in something. It grabbed my leg and pulled me through the sidewalk. Next thing I knew, I was standing in that hallway. Then these people showed up. All I remember is the eye." She shuddered. "That big pulsin', spinnin', glowin', green eye. By the way, how'd you find me?"

Jinx: "I was part of the group, the one with pink hair."

Em: "I remember someone with pink hair, but your hair's black."

Jinx: "It's a holo-ring. I didn't want you pass out again when you saw me."

She removed the ring and let true form show itself. The girl's eyes bulged and she squeaked.

Jinx: "I know. I get that reaction a lot."

Em: "Okay, wow. Just, wow. But where's everyone else?"

Jinx: "Just outside. Wouldn't want you to pass out again. Before I call them in, though, why did that eye stick in your mind?"

Em: "Let's just say I had a bad experience with a school play."

Jinx: "Fair enough. Just a moment, dear." She walked over to the corner. "See-More?"

See-More: "She's clean. Not even a half-truth."

Jinx: "Good." She walked back over to the couch. "I'm going to call the rest of the team in now. Do you think you can handle that?" Em nodded. "You can come in now, guys!"

Private Hive, Mammoth, Gizmo, and See-more trumped in. Em burrowed into the couch a little, and watched them with wide eyes.

Jinx: "may I present the Hive Five!"

Em: "WOW! WOWOWOWOWOWOW! Real life superheroes!"

See-More: "Actually, we're-ow!" Gimzo stepped on his foot.

Gimzo: "Yeah, we're superheroes. Name's Gimzo."

"Private Hive, at your service." He strolled up to the couch, bowed low, and kissed her hand. She blushed.

"I'm Mammoth."

"And I'm See-More."

Em: "It's an honor to meet every one of you! Just think, me! Em Onymous, talking to super heroes. Wahoooooooo!" She started dancing around the room.

Jinx: "There's just one thing."

Em stopped mid flip and balanced on her hands. "Wha's that?"

Jinx: "We still need to figure how you ended up at the bottom of our top secret underground base without setting off any alarms, or even walking anywhere the entrance."

Em: "Oh, right. I'm jus' as curious as you are."

See-More: "I checked the security cameras. Reality folded in on the itself for a split second before you appeared."

Everyone (Exclamation): "Appeared?"

Em: "Like a wormhole?"

See-More: "yes, how did you know?"

Em: "One of my best guy friends talks about that kind of stuff All. The. Time. As hard as I've tried, it's just impossible to keep it all out."

See-More: "IIIIIIIII-see. In any case, wherever she came from, it's not around here."

Jinx: "That's the understatement of the day."

Mammoth: "I'm big."

Jinx: "Now it's that one. Is there anyway to send her back?"

Gizmo: "No way, scuzheads. Once a hairballed wormhole is closed, it's closed for good. I'd have to make a new one, and that takes time."

Jinx: "How much time?"

Gizmo: "3 years, give or take."

Em: "3 years! My Mom's going to kill me."

Jinx considered tossing out of their lair, but something made her change her mind again.

Jinx: "How about you stay here while we sort this out?" This earned her a shocked look from the rest of the team, which was quickly suppressed.

Em: "Really, you'd do that for me? Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" She leaped off the couch and gave Jinx a tackle hug."

Jinx: "Hey, we're superheroes, it's what we do."

She shot a glare at the rest of the team that said, "If you don't back me up on this, I'll throw you out." They tried to show some enthusiasm, with varying results.

Jinx smiled: "I think you're going to like it here."

Em beamed back. "I'll try!"

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ZYX rose slightly out of the sea of unconsciousness.

Robin: "Are you sure about that, Raven?"

Raven: "I told you Robin, ZYX didn't cause the accident. I didn't erase the circles from the previous spell and they messed with the one I was casting. I caused the accident, and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Robin: "But what about your powers? If they don't come back-"

Raven: "We'll find out what happened to them when he's better and we can run tests on him without endangering his health. Now shut up, my concentrations slipping."

ZYX went back under.

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After Robin left the infirmary, he went back to his office and fumed. Just when he had figured out who ZYX was, the (insert insult here) had gotten himself knocked unconscious. Now the rest of the of team was too busy worrying about him and Raven for Robin to drop the news._ His timing was perfect, _thought Robin, _too perfect?_

Hours later, Robin had finished scanning his stuff for bugs. The only one he'd found was a tracker from catwoman left over from his time in Gotham. _No wonder she kept dodging me in our last fight! _He sat back in his swivel chair with a sigh. _I guess the news will just have to wait until he wakes up. Until we can question him, the others won't accept it. I wonder how long it's going to be?_

**That's chapter 7. If there are any problems with the punctuation at the end of a sentence, I apologize. This website won't allow more than one question mark or exclamation point in a row. Like I said, cliffhangers=faster updates. Reviews also equal faster updates. Finally, if any words are missing, please report them to me.  
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	8. Confusion

**Welcome to chapter 8, and let's have a big hand for Ground Pounder!**

Normal text is narrator.

"This is speech."

"_This is a whisper."_

"**This is a shout!"**

_This is thought._

_**This is written words.**_

This is a transition.

**This is author's notes.**

**(Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans)**

Ground Pounder was hungry. As usual. He'd just arrived in Jump City the day before, and was fresh out of cash. Thanks to the heist his sisters had dragged him into a few weeks ago, he couldn't get a job without getting arrested. _Although it's not like that wasn't the case already, _he thought bitterly. He sighed, _I guess it's dumpster diving. Again._

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Em: "Uh, where are we headin'?"

Jinx: "Just down to the lab. If you're going to be staying here, we need to find out if you have any, unnatural talents."

Em: "You mean superpowers?"

Jinx: "We prefer to call them Meta-human talents."

Em: "But I don't have any powers."

Gizmo: "You might now."

Em: "Why?"

Gizmo: "The Aura Borealis."

Em: "Huh?"

Gizmo: "The Northern Lights, dimwit. When the energy from the sun hits the Earth's magnetic field, it gets caught up in the loop and turns the entire planet into a giant battery. This messes with every living thing on Earth, and causes visitors to sometimes develop powers shortly after they arrive. The visible effect of it is the Northern Lights."

Em: "This is so cool!"

Gizmo: "You already said that."

Em: "I know!"

See More: "We're here."

The lab was Gizmo's personal playground. Since no one else really knew anything about machines or programming or research, they mostly stayed out. Surprisingly, the room was fairly tidy, with all the tools hung on the far wall, an open-fronted scanner to the left, some work tables to the right of the door, and all of the large, complicated instruments and power cores in the middle of the floor. Everyone gave Gizmo a funny look.

Gizmo: "I can't work in a dirty space, you got a problem with that?"

They stared at him some more. Finally, Private Hive shook his head.

Gizmo: "Good. _Scuzbrains._"

Jinx: "Getting back on track here, guys. Gimzo, fire up the scanner."

Gizmo: "Fine."

He dashed across room and started scrambling all over the machine, checking wires, flipping switches, and pushing buttons. Em watched in astonishment. Everyone else looked bored.

Gizmo: "Okay, it's ready."

Jinx: "Good. Em, could you please step inside?"

Em: "It won't hurt me, will it?"

Jinx chuckled. "Not at all! Right Gizmo?"

Gizmo: "Are you serious? I built this thing myself! It took a lot of work, too."

Em: "Well, all right then." She stepped inside.

Gizmo: "It will tingle like crazy, though."

Em: "Well, how 'bout we get it over with?"

Gizmo: "Sure."

He turned to the controls console on the side of the scanner and pressed a green button. A red laser scanner started at her feet and traveled up her body. Em immediately started laughing hysterically.

Jinx: "What's going on, Gizmo, is something wrong?"

Gizmo: "Everything's fine, she's just ticklish."

Two minutes later, it reached the top of the tube and clicked off.

Em: "(gasp, wheeze) ah, ah, ah, ahhhhh. Wow. What a rush. Although I don't like the taste of iron it gave me. What's the report say?"

Gizmo glared at the readouts. "It says you've got 2 powers. One is weak telekinesis, and the other one shorted out the scanner. I can't tell you what it is."

Everyone: "What?"

Gizmo: "The scanner is fried, dimwits. And even if it wasn't, it wouldn't be able to tell us. The heap of junk failed to register what the second power was, then got burned out. We'll need a much stronger scanner, and a bigger power source to fuel it."

Jinx: "Do you know where to find one?"

Gizmo: "Yeah, I'll show you."

He led them into the command center and pulled up a picture.

Gizmo: "The only scanner powerful enough to pull this off belongs to Wayne Industries, and you can't exactly stroll in there and ask to use it."

Em: "Why not? You're superheroes. If you say it's for a good cause, they'll let you in, won't they?"

Jinx snorted: "The only people who get into Wayne Industries are the employees, and they sign confidentiality agreements. No one just drops in and asks to use some of their stuff."

Em: "Oh. That's a bummer. So what do we do?"

See-More: "Aren't they having a charity party there in a few weeks?"

Private Hive: "I think so, why?"

See-More: "How about this? We could donate some money and attend, then sneak into the labs to use the scanner."

While the others started nodding, Em looked horrified.

Em: "Are you suggesting that we BREAK IN?"

Everyone shifted uncomfortably.

See-More: "It'll be for a good cause: finding out your powers, and it's not like we're going to take anything. Plus if we donate some money it will basically nullify the cost of using of the scanner."

Em: "I guess that makes sense. It still seems wrong though."

Gizmo: "You can't be good guy unless you're able to do a slightly bad thing for a good cause."

Em: "Well you are heroes so I guess you'd know. Still…"

Jinx: "Well I guess that's settled then. We're going to the benefit."

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ZYX: "Groaooaaaaoaoaon."

Cyborg (over the intercom): "Well, look who's finally woken up. Welcome back, sleepyhead."

ZYX: "Oooooowwwwwwwwwwww. What happened?"

Raven (also over the intercom): "I would be the best one to explain that. Basically, the circles from the first spell we cast that I didn't erase entirely interfered with the one that knocked us out. Exactly what the spell did, we don't know yet."

ZYX: "Why not?"

Raven: "Because you need to be awake when I cast a tracer to figure out what happened."

ZYX: "How long was I out?"

Cyborg: "Not that long, just overnight."

ZYX: "Did anything happen?"

Beast Boy: "Robin's been acting weird, and dude, I mean weirder than normal."

ZYX: "Weird how?"

Raven: "I noticed too. He's been giving you funny looks, and when he heard about the accident, he went ballistic, accusing you of causing it despite my assurances that it was my fault. Then he stalked off to his office and we haven't seen him since."

ZYX: "Huh. Can I get up?"

Cyborg: "Let me check you out first. Just a moment."

ZYX: "Okay."

A little while later, Cyborg walked in and powered up the scanner chair.

Cyborg: "Hop on in, and let's get you checked out."

ZYX climbed into the chair while Cyborg powered it up. After a few moments, he was sorting through the readings.

Cyborg: "Aside from a nasty bruise when you passed out, I don't see anything. You're good to go. I'll tell Robin you're up and about."

ZYX: "Thanks!"

Raven stepped into the room. "Let's get this over with."

ZYX: "All right."

He followed her back to her room, where she told him to sit in the middle of the failed spell.

Raven: "Once I start the incantation, it will run on its own, but take several hours before it can give us an answer. During that time, we can't go more than 2 miles away from the source, but other than that, we should be able to do as we please. When it's finished, it will tell me what happened. Nagglock-coas-sell-ehponten."

All the lines on the floor glowed faintly silver. A moment later, Raven's communicator beeped.

Raven: "What is it, Robin?"

Robin: "Raven, come to the common room. Bring ZYX too."

Raven: "On our way."

ZYX: "Where do you keep your communicator? It's not like you have pockets."

Raven: "You don't want to know."

ZYX: "Well, all right. Maybe now Robin will tell us what's been bugging him."

Raven strode out of her room and headed for the common area with ZYX tailing behind. When they got there, the others were waiting, sitting in the dinette with Robin in the middle. He was holding a manila folder. When he saw ZYX, he glared. That wasn't new. However, Beast Boy and Cyborg gazed at ZYX with a wariness they had only shown when he first appeared. Whatever Robin was mad about, he had told them as well, and they found it disturbing.

Robin: "ZYX, have a seat." He gestured to the folding he had set up directly across from him. ZYX dropped into it, and gave Robin a questioning look. Robin responded by pulling a photo out of the folder and handing it to ZYX.

Robin: "Does this person look familiar to you?" It was a printed out copy of Freezo Hands' criminal profile picture.

ZYX stared at it in disbelief. "Of course I do, that's my sister. But how did you get a photo of her, and WHAT is she wearing?"

Robin didn't respond. He only pulled out another photo and slid it across the table.

ZYX: "And this is my other sister." He stared hard at Robin. "Why are you showing me these?"

In reply, Robin pulled out a third photo. Ground Pounder's photo.

ZYX picked it up and studied it for a long time. "Is this supposed to be me?"

Robin: "That's not supposed to be you, that IS you. You're a spy, sent to infiltrate our team and compromise it! You're not a hero, and never were!"

ZYX: "That's not true! What about the message? Do you think I could fake that?"

Robin: "With enough money, you can fake anything. Now admit it, this," he pointed to the picture, "is you."

ZYX: "No, it's not!"

Robin was so livid by this point that he started to climb over the table to shake the truth out of ZYX, but the alarm went off before he got the chance. Shoving away any anger he had towards ZYX, he rushed over to the computer and started typing.

Robin: "Mumbo is attacking the armored car making a drop at First Jump City Bank! Titans, Go!"

Beast Boy: "Dude, what about HIM?" He shot a withering look at ZYX.

Robin: "Cyborg, activate lockdown in the T-Car. I'm not letting him out of my sight."

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Ground Pounder was walking down the street opposite the First Jump City Bank, which was full of restaurants. The local owners had quickly realized that every battle outside the bank drew tons of tourists, and they had reacted accordingly, building a second story balcony where people could watch the fights, and installing shatterproof glass windows and reinforced steel doors. This had paid off immensely: the tables were packed with visitors ever hoping to see the local heroes in action. This helped Ground Pounder as well, because it meant that the dumpsters out back would be full to bursting.

Contrary to popular belief, fishing your meals out of a dumpster is not as gross as you might think. Messed up orders, picky eaters, and anything that's even a day past its expiration date gets pitched, whether or not it's still safe to eat. Also, once the food has been thrown away, it's free game by law. He once found an entire meat lovers pizza behind a Sam's Club that was still warm, and big enough to last for two days. So if you knew where to look, you would never go hungry.

He was in the mood for Chinese, and that shop on the corner looked like just the place. As he tried to inconspicuously mosey over in its general direction, the bank started blazing with alarms. Mumbo burst through the front doors, cackling gleefully. GP (As I will call him from now on) quickly ducked into an alleyway between a deli and an ice-cream parlor, and found a spot behind a few boxes where he could see but not be seen. From there he watched as the shops sprang into action.

All up and down the block, the storefronts were lowering the steel chain barriers that you see in front of stores in the mall after closing, and were firing up heat shields and exterior cameras, for the benefit of the customers inside, who rushed to the counters to order more food for the upcoming battle. And they weren't disappointed, as the T-car came barreling around the corner. Now GP avoided law enforcement of any kind, and he reasoned that the best way to do that in this situation was to wait for them to stop Mumbo and go back to their base, wherever it might be. So he stayed put.

Meanwhile, Mumbo was using his wand to suck money out of the pockets of everyone who was still on the street, much to their dismay.

Robin: "Give it up, Mumbo, your parlor tricks won't work today!"

Mumbo: "That's what you think, Titans! Hocus Pocus!"

Robin: "Titans, GO!"

They sprang into battle. In the restaurants lining the streets, the spectators cheered the Titans on, booing every time Mumbo got a shot in. GP was pretty sure he saw the crowd make "the wave" at one point.

This time around, after Mumbo had buried them in confetti, Starfire had broken loose and managed to snatch his wand and break it, ending the fight early. His hat ballooned and exploded, scattering money everywhere. While most of it landed right next to the Titans, a single stray 100 dollar bill had been scooped up by a gust of wind and deposited right at the entrance to the alley GP was hiding in.

He thought, _I don't like stealing, but I could live off that bill for a week. _He carefully stepped out of the out of the alley, made sure no one was looking, then stooped down to pick up the bill. A steel toed boot stepped on it before he got the chance.

Robin: "Just what do you think you're doing?"

GP glanced up at Robin. He had never seen the Boy Wonder before, but he thought he seemed familiar. He knew that there was no chance of him just being able to walk away, and he didn't want to use his suit yet, so he stood up and hoped Robin didn't recognize him.

GP: "Just looking to pick this up so it isn't misplaced, Sir."

Unfortunately for him, he looked just like ZYX, and Robin freaked.

Robin: "HOW did you get out of the car!"?

GP: "Wait, do I know you?" Then it hit him. "Oh, yeah, I do. My sister hates you!"

Robin: "I won't repeat myself again! How did you get out of the car?"

GP: "What are you talking about?"

Robin: "I knew you were a traitor!"

He took a swing at GP, who executed a backwards roll into the alley. _Damn, no choice but to fight now._ He pushed a button on the inside of his right wrist, and his armor came out from under his clothes, covering him in durable yet flexible scale mail, with solid plate on his joints and an astronaut style visor covering his head. A small twin canister power pack, only 10 by 6 inches wide, and 2 inches deep, grew out of his back, and his gun, modeled after an AK-47, twisted together in his arms. Electrical wires deftly snaked up and down his form, connecting the power pack to the rest of his gear without impeding his movement. A power reading came up inside his helmet.

_**90% capacity.**_ GP grinned. While he had been on his cross country trek over the past few weeks, he hadn't anything better to do than practice, and he had gotten good, really good.

Robin meanwhile, had just leapt into the air, swiping downward with the bo-staff he had just opened. GP deftly caught the weapon with his left hand and squeezed off a single shot from his weapon. The blast sent Robin barreling out of the alley, and slammed him into the bank, where he hit with a sickening crunch. GP smiled in satisfaction and tossed the crumpled metal stick aside.

Robin managed to point a finger at GP, while his teammates looked on in shock.

"_Titans. . . go_." He slumped to the ground, unconscious, and bleeding profusely from a head laceration. Raven immediately flew to his side to treat his wounds, while the others focused their attention on GP, who had stepped out of the alley and now shone in the morning sun, showing all his green and black glory. He slammed his left fist into his right.

**GP: "Bring it!"**

The Titans needed no further encouragement.

**And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the end of chapter 8. The titans have no idea what they're getting themselves into! (mad cackle) And as one last note, where's ZYX? As always, R&R! This time, if you have suggestions for improvements I could make to the first 2 chapters, I'll change them. Right now, they stink.**


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